Compiègne

Compiègne

(kôNpyĕ`nyə), city (1990 pop. 44,703), Oise dept., N France, in Île-de-France, on the Oise River. It is an industrial center with varied manufactures; a large glassworks is located in the suburbs. As far back as the Merovingian period (7th cent.), Compiègne had been the site of royal gatherings; from the 17th to 19th cent. French monarchs used it as a summer residence. The forest of Compiègne was a royal hunting ground. Joan of Arc was captured (1430) by the Burgundians at Compiègne. In a railroad car in the forest the armistice ending World War I was signed; in 1940, Hitler forced the French to surrender in the same car (which was later taken to Germany and destroyed). The large 15th-century palace, other old structures, and the place's historic connotations attract many tourists.

Compiègne

a city in northern France, in the department of Oise, on the Oise River. Population 32,500 (1968). It has chemical, food, and metalworking industries. The city has a very large park, the forest of Compiégne, which was the site of the signing of the Compiégne Armistice of 1918 and the Compiégne Armistice of 1940. There is a castle, which was erected during the Merovingian dynasty; it was reconstructed and expanded in the 18th century. The city hall was built in the 16th century.

It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiegne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at 11:00 am in the morningthe "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

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